It was around noon when we came across a small village in an opening within the forest. It wasn't large, but how it was placed made it easily missed by untrained eyes.
If you were to judge the number of residents, you would guess around two hundred people from the number of houses.
It was then when I realized the smell of death in the air.
Just then, my [Intuition] activated and warned me of the danger.
I left everyone besides Dhammi-chan at the carriage to guard the Sisters, Blacksmith-san and Alchemist-san.
I used [Phased Array] to search the town.
After the preliminary search, it seems that there was only a single human remaining within the town. Dhammi-chan confirmed this with her senses.
I drew out my halberd. At the same time as an extra precaution, I activated an ability from my Silver right arm called [Beowulf's Fury] which heightens my the defensive power of my arm.
It's necessary to remain vigilant.
Once we entered the village, the appearance only served to justify my precautions, the sight was worrisome.
Pieces of meat were splattered on the ground and on walls as pools of dried and clotted blood covered the ground.
The resting pieces of bodies, limbs and other parts of human bodies were scattered every which way. Even upon the roof tops, human remains were visible.
When we got further in, we found several corpses closer together with what seemed to be makeshift weapons. Behind these corpses was a pile of bodies ripped to shreds, but not just any bodies...
"The Children too, huh..." I said to myself. A chill went down my spine as I said this. Dhammi-chan also seemed to become anxious. We both continued on high alert.
The wounds caused to each of the corpses were either puncture wounds, or slashes. This wasn't the work of some form of giant monster, so the true nature of this situation cannot be presumed, only serving to further increase the tension.
After moving further in, we reached near the location of 'survivor' that we had detected earlier.
It was a youth, its body was covered with a murky liquid that seemed to be toxic and smelled terrible. It gazed at the sky with a blank look on its face, as if lamenting its deeds.
This youth, it seems like it isn't some ordinary villager...
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It wore a light silver steel armor that protects the body, though damaged, it still reflected the sun brightly.
Around the waist were several decorations, it seems that the Kingdom's coat of arms was also present.
When taking into account of the quality of the equipment, as well as the type, it's likely that this thing is or was a member of a Calvary for the Kingdom.
It's highly possible that he was a deserter of some kind.
It's also possible that Knights from the kingdom were responsible for the destruction of the village, not a monster.
Perhaps the true cause had already left the scene and this youth was left in its place.
When I considered this, I decided gathering more information.
When I got closer, I noticed that this young man was crying and holding something.
A corpse... The youth was holding the top half of a mangled corpse of what seemed to be a woman. He was embracing the woman while crying in a crestfallen manner. Most of the organs and blood from this corpse had already fallen out of the woman and were on the ground below.
This woman was probably someone important to this youth.
At this time, however, the eyes of the youth instantly shifted towards me, the wind suddenly began blowing. I felt the burning embers of hatred impacting my body, it seems that these feelings are a mix of sadness and rage.
As I thought this, the young man abruptly laid down the corpse and began to moan in such a way as a beast.
As this happened both [Phased Array] and [Intuition] began to sound a violent alarm.
When this happened, I thought "Oh... Dangerous", changing my posture to a defensive stance while at the same time securing the safety of Dhammi-chan.
The young man's gaze turned back to the female corpse on the ground, and drew the blade from his waist.
His eyes remained vacant, as if all meaning had been struck from him. It is not the eyes of one who has lost his mind, but lost the will of life.
That said, something abnormal had begun to take hold of this youth's mind.